# Cats and tobacco



## Jeff10236

I have to wonder, any other cat owners notice any particular reaction of their cats towards your tobacco?

I ask because I recently ended up seeing a cat play with catnip and it reminded me of my last cat (I haven't had cats for a few years now).

I grew up with cats. Most ignored my smoking when I did it around them, they didn't seem to notice my pipes or pipe tobacco existed, and when I smelled of smoke, they didn't seem to take notice. But, one cat I had was different.

This cat _loved_ tobacco. One day she discovered a bag of pipe tobacco and reacted to it even more intensely than she did to catnip. She would roll around on it, try to dig it out of the bag, and if I wasn't careful she would make a huge mess. I don't know if it was the nicotine, the smell itself, or something else in the tobacco she was reacting to.

After the first time I noticed it, I would occasionally expose her to pipe tobacco for my fun and to reward her (since she liked it so much). It was great fun to watch and her reaction never lessened.

She didn't only react to pipe tobacco. She loved the smell of stale tobacco as well. When I'd come home from the bars (in the early and mid 1990s you could still smoke in Maryland bars) she would go nuts. If my hair smelled of tobacco smoke she would sometimes get on the back of the sofa or chair I was sitting on and bury her face in my hair. It was funny, her whiskers tickled, and when she would chew on my hair it was very odd. It wasn't as funny when she'd start that cat kneading thing though, she wasn't de-clawed and claws on your scalp hurts. Heck, even when I'd smoke on the back porch she would react to the smell of the smoke, which is odd since animals don't usually like smoke.

Anyway, I was wondering if any other current or former cat owners ever had a cat that reacted to tobacco, or if this cat was as strange as I think she was.


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## Hambone1

Sorry, don't have cats. Not a cat person at all. My English Bulldogs use them for chew toys and I'm okay with that.


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## RJpuffs

I've had cats over the years, and they've all despised any sort of tobacco smoke. It was a good way to get one off a bed, puff a cloud at the feline and it would snort and go sulk elsewhere. 

Either that cat is not a cat (any white stripes on its back?) or you're smokin' some good catnip :humble:


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## Frankenstein

whenever I come in from smoking a cigar 2 of our 4 cats are all over me. They absolutely love the smell. However they also despise :mad2: smoke.


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## Jeff10236

Frankenstein said:


> whenever I come in from smoking a cigar 2 of our 4 cats are all over me. They absolutely love the smell. However they also despise :mad2: smoke.


Try giving those 2 cats a small bag of tobacco (keep it in the plastic bag, I never gave loose tobacco) and see how they react. If it is like my long deceased cat they may like it more than catnip.


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## CWL

Nicotine is poisonous to animals. Water in which tobacco has been soaked used to be a method to euthanize pets.

While it may take more tobacco than in a typical bowl to kill them, I still would not recommend combining tobacco and pets.


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## BrewShooter

CWL said:


> Water in which tobacco has been soaked used to be a method to euthanize pets.


I believe this is also an effective way to euthanize people.


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## primetime76

Hmmm, I have one dog and one cat (out of 2 of each) that drive me crazy...I also have a lot of tobacco....interesting. :twisted:


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## Jeff10236

CWL said:


> Nicotine is poisonous to animals. Water in which tobacco has been soaked used to be a method to euthanize pets.
> 
> While it may take more tobacco than in a typical bowl to kill them, I still would not recommend combining tobacco and pets.


Its poisonous to people too, that's why we get nicotine buzzes and they can make you fell nauseous and sick if you have too much. Alcohol also is a poison and the drunkenness it can cause is from its effect on us, and when we get sick from it that is because we are getting too much and our body is protecting itself.

After the discovery was made that the cat loved my pipe tobacco, I mentioned it to the vet and he didn't seem to be too concerned as long as it stayed in the plastic bag and I didn't give her any loose tobacco. Actually, he seemed more concerned about the potential effects of pipe smoking on my health than the little bit of tobacco on my cat's health. Anyway, he didn't seem to think it was too high a dose of nicotine. It being poison though may have been what caused the reaction- kind of like a person getting drunk on too much alcohol- she was drunk on tobacco.

That said, you are right, and I shouldn't be suggesting anyone to give small amounts of tobacco to their cats.


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## canadianpiper

I havent noticed if my cat enjoys a pipe, I should pay more attention to her.


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## TonyBrooklyn

Jeff10236 said:


> I have to wonder, any other cat owners notice any particular reaction of their cats towards your tobacco?
> 
> I ask because I recently ended up seeing a cat play with catnip and it reminded me of my last cat (I haven't had cats for a few years now).
> 
> I grew up with cats. Most ignored my smoking when I did it around them, they didn't seem to notice my pipes or pipe tobacco existed, and when I smelled of smoke, they didn't seem to take notice. But, one cat I had was different.
> 
> This cat _loved_ tobacco. One day she discovered a bag of pipe tobacco and reacted to it even more intensely than she did to catnip. She would roll around on it, try to dig it out of the bag, and if I wasn't careful she would make a huge mess. I don't know if it was the nicotine, the smell itself, or something else in the tobacco she was reacting to.
> 
> After the first time I noticed it, I would occasionally expose her to pipe tobacco for my fun and to reward her (since she liked it so much). It was great fun to watch and her reaction never lessened.
> 
> She didn't only react to pipe tobacco. She loved the smell of stale tobacco as well. When I'd come home from the bars (in the early and mid 1990s you could still smoke in Maryland bars) she would go nuts. If my hair smelled of tobacco smoke she would sometimes get on the back of the sofa or chair I was sitting on and bury her face in my hair. It was funny, her whiskers tickled, and when she would chew on my hair it was very odd. It wasn't as funny when she'd start that cat kneading thing though, she wasn't de-clawed and claws on your scalp hurts. Heck, even when I'd smoke on the back porch she would react to the smell of the smoke, which is odd since animals don't usually like smoke.
> 
> Anyway, I was wondering if any other current or former cat owners ever had a cat that reacted to tobacco, or if this cat was as strange as I think she was.


When i smoked cigarettes some 15 + years ago. My friends cat would love to eat them!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Hermit

When I open a tin, they have to come
see what's in the can, but after a quick
sniff they lose interest. The cats and
the dog pretty much ignore my smoking.


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## pffintuff

I don't let any of my pets near my tobacco, including the wife. They may like it too much.


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## jfserama

Never had a dog or cat, but I've had quite a few gerbils, hamsters, and rats over the years, and occasionally one of them will find a loose piece of tobacco on the floor. They all seemed curious the first time, and tried to eat it. After realizing it doesn't taste good they spit it out and have had no interest in tobacco after that.

Your post makes me wonder about letting them play with a bag of tobacco though… or a beanbag with a tobacco smell on it…

I do know that rats can get drunk, although mine don't have much interest in the taste of alcohol, just the smell. And I once had a rat get high off a sharpie he sniffed while I was drawing… the poor little guy haha

And yeah, very little of this has to do with your post. I'm done now.


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## CBR

None of my cats have been particularly fond of tobacco smoke, my current one will go so far as to roll his eyes at me when he sees the pipe being filled.


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## MarkC

TonyBrooklyn said:


> When i smoked cigarettes some 15 + years ago. My friends cat would love to eat them!!!!!!!!!!!!


I had a friend with a dog like that. The friend had quit cigarettes five years earlier, but the dog was still jonzin'...

My cats don't seem to care one way or the other about tobacco, smoked or unsmoked. Pipe cleaners are another story...


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## freestoke

I've got four and they seem to be totally oblivious to the whole operation. They don't mess with anything, pipes, cleaner, tobacco...nothing. One of them really likes my guitar playing, though and they all definitely like nylon guitar strings when I'm changing them and throwing the old ones on the floor.


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